Verified Document

Related Diversification Constellation And Ballast Point Essay

Constellation Brands is an alcoholic beverage company, traded under the symbol STZ on the New York Stock Exchange. The company had revenues of just over $6 billion in the 2014 fiscal year and a net income of $839 million (MSN Moneycentral, 2015). While revenues were up significantly over the prior year, profits were down by more than 50%. Until recently, Constellation was an importer/marketer of alcoholic beverages, but the company has recently entered into the production side of the business. As an example, Constellation has built its beer business as the importer of mainstream global brands such as Corona, Tsingtao and several smaller Mexican brands. The company did not own any beer production facilities, but recently announced the purchase of Ballast Point, a microbrewery in San Diego (Kaplan, 2015). This purchases official makes Constellation a brewing company for the first time. The deal is reported to be in the $1 billion range, a large number in light of the valuation on Ballast Point closer to $150 million when it filed an S-1 for an IPO in October, 2015 (Ballast Point Form S-1, 2015). Net asset value of Ballast Point was only $17.9 million according to the S-1. With such a high cost, there needs to be a strong strategic fit for Constellation, something that will be explored in this paper. Rationale for Acquisitions

When a company acquires another business, it must inherently pay more than the market value of that company. This is because without a premium, there is no incentive for the existing owners of a business to sell to any one particular buyer. Thus, the buyer has to pay a premium. In this instance, a company that was set to have an IPO in 2016 somewhere in the $150 million range was purchased at a phenomenal premium over market value, an estimated 6.67 times the project IPO value, and 109 times the acquired company's 2015 net income and 70 times EBITDA. Another recent industry acquisition was that of Lagunitas, also for around $1 billion, but Lagunitas was the 8th-largest craft brewer by volume in the U.S., where Ballast Point was the 31st-largest (Brewer's Association, 2015).

To justify the premium, the acquiring company must be able to extract more value from the purchased entity than that company could extract on its own. The underlying principle...

Thus, the acquiring firm must have assets, competencies and attributes that will add value to the acquired entity, in sufficient quantity as to justify the premium paid. The reality is that most deals fail to deliver the sorts of synergies that justify the premium (Bain, 2015). The steeper the premium, the less likely the company is going to extract those synergies.
Constellation's Business

Constellation is primarily an importer and marketer. The company entered into production in the wine business in the 2000s by purchasing a number of wineries. Constellation is now the world's largest winemaker, owning brands such as Robert Mondavi, Jackson-Triggs, Rex Goliath, Clos du Bois, Kim Crawford and several others (Constellation Annual Report 2015). The company also has some spirit holdings, mainly secondary brands such as SVEDKA Vodka and Black Velvet Canadian Whisky.

The company's beer business is based almost entirely in the United States. It does not produce its major beer brands, but rather owns the U.S. rights to those brands. Most of them are from Grupo Modelo, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. AB InBev was compelled to vacate Modelo brands in the U.S. as part of an antitrust agreement (U.S. Department of Justice, 2013). Constellation is thus the #3 player in the U.S. beer business by market share, primarily on the strength of the Modelo brands and Tsingtao. These products are positioned as imported beers, with Corona and Tsingtao positioned as premium imports. This positioning is essentially a price point, and other Mexican brands fill different price points within the company's portfolio. Constellation has nationwide distribution of these beers.

Constellation can derive value for any of its holdings through its sales and distribution channels. Corona is ubiquitous, and many of the company's wine products also have saturation-level distribution. This is one of the main assets that Constellation can use to extract value from the Ballast Point acquisition. Constellation, prior to this acquisition, had never owned a microbrewery before, or even distributed one. Craft beer is now a major niche in the U.S. brewing industry, with an…

Sources used in this document:
References

2015 Annual Report for Constellation Brands. Retrieved November 21, 2015 from http://www.cbrands.com/investors/financial-information

Bain Capital (2015). How merging companies can beat the synergy odds. Forbes. Retrieved November 21, 2015 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/baininsights/2015/01/09/how-merging-companies-can-beat-the-synergy-odds/

Ballast Point, Form S-1 (2015). Retrieved November 20, 2015 from https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1648798/000119312515346618/d87353ds1.htm

Brewer's Association (2015). Top 50 breweries of 2014. Breewr's Association. Retrieved November 21, 2015 from https://www.brewersassociation.org/press-releases/brewers-association-lists-top-50-breweries-of-2014/
Brewer's Association (2015, 2). U.S. beer sales volume growth in 2014. Brewer's Association. Retrieved November 21, 2015 from https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/national-beer-sales-production-data/
Kaplan, J. (2015). Constellation to buy Ballast Point for $1 billion. Bloomberg. Retrieved November 21, 2015 from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-16/constellation-to-acquire-ballast-point-brewery-for-1-billion
MSN Moneycentral (2015). Constellation Brands Retrieved November 21, 2015 from http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/stockdetails/financials/fi-126.1.STZ.NYS?ocid=qbeb
Ratebeer.com (2015). Ballast Point Sculpin IPA. Retrieved November 21, 2015 from http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/ballast-point-sculpin-ipa/50008/
US Department of Justice (2013). Justice Department reaches settlement with Anheuser-Busch InBev and Grupo Modelo in beer case. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved November 21, 2015 from http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-reaches-settlement-anheuser-busch-inbev-and-grupo-modelo-beer-case
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Robert Mondavi Strategic
Words: 693 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Robert Mondavi Corporation: Strategic Analysis Robert Mondavi Corporation has dealt in wine making since 1966 and is one of the leading wine companies in the U.S. The Company is organized around three operating units: Robert Mondavi, Woodbridge and joint ventures, and other brands. Its operations are based in Napa Valley, California but have expanded to several other parts of the world such as Chile, Italy and Australia. ("Robert Modavi," 2003-Company website-

Robert Mondavi Corporation
Words: 1258 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Robert Mondavi Corporation (RMC) is a company whose strategy has expanded overtime. The company began operations by pursuing a strategy of being the first wine company in Napa Valley to make wines that rivaled those from the great winemaking centers in Europe. To meet this objective it implemented best practices in the production of premium wines by assembling industry experts developing a new technology to permit gentle handling of wine

Robert Mondavi and the Wine
Words: 1202 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

In the 1990s Mondavi explored other joint venture options including one with the Italian vintner Luce della Vite. Their joint La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi uses Italian grape varietals grown in California to produce a line of high-end wines. More recently, Mondavi acquired Arrowood, marking the firm's first entry into Sonoma wines. Mondavi owns and leases a total of almost 10,000 acres of vineyard land in California. Their joint

Strategic Analysis on a Case Study of Robert Mondavi and the Wine...
Words: 1527 Length: 5 Document Type: Case Study

HBR Page | Robert Mondavi and the wine industry Case Study- Harvard Business Review Evaluate the structure of the global wine industry. How is it that the structure is changing? Historical perspective of wine production starts in around 6,000 BC when Mesopotamians initially began to produce wine. Wine has been important part of ancient lifestyle; Egyptians use to bury it in pharaohs for the comfortable living in life after. Greeks consider Dionysus as

Wine Industry Attractiveness in a
Words: 1900 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

The main advantage Mondavi possesses over Allied Domecq is the fact that it has a series of well established brands, brands which have become well-known to the market through marketing campaigns that ensure that the brand has a distinct identity and unique image. Additionally, in my opinion, until the synergies begin producing results, the tactics of simply buying players on the market needs time to sediment and to become

Tobacco, Alcohol and Gambling: The
Words: 2762 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Ironically, those opposed to smoking used the very same medium to help kill smoking in public places, restaurants, and even cars when children are present (as is the case in several states now). Smoking and tobacco products are a pariah now - no longer the universal symbol of cool, no matter how much money the companies spend on advertising. The alcohol and gambling industries, on the other hand, have clearly taken

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now